Raising a Concern

Introduction

The aim of all in the Practice, doctors, nurses and staff, is to provide the best possible service to all our patients but there may be times when you feel that this has not happened. In line with NHS procedures and national standards we operate a Practice-based concerns procedure which we hope will resolve most issues speedily and satisfactorily.

Using our procedure does not diminish your right to contact the Local Health Board with your concern, nor does it compromise your legal position.

How To Raise a Concern

We aim to resolve problems quickly and responsively. The person nominated to co-ordinate the concerns process is the Practice Manager, Day. If you are unable to resolve your problem with the person concerned as it arises, please write to or telephone her. Please let us know as soon as possible that you are concerned as this will enable us to establish what happened more easily.

Concerns should be raised within 12 months of the incident or within 12 months of you discovering that you have cause for concern. Please give as much detail as you can.

Raising a Concern on Behalf of Someone Else

We have to keep strictly to the rules of medical confidentiality. If you raise a concern on behalf of someone else we will have to obtain the consent of that person before investigating the complaint further.

What We Will Do

we will acknowledge your concern within two working days and answer any questions about the process

we will treat your concern confidentially - only those who need to know in the Practice will be advised and information will not be shared outside without your consent

your concern will be recorded and a decision made on how best to undertake any investigation

we will find out what happened and why.

you will be offered a meeting within ten working days with the Practice Manager and/or the doctor/ nurse involved to discuss the problem. You will be welcome to bring a relative or friend.

A full report of the investigation will be provided within 30 working days of when we first received your concern. If this is not possible, you will be given an explanation and advised when the report will be completed.

we will make sure that you receive an apology where this is appropriate

we will identify what we can do to make sure that the problem doesn't happen again

Taking The Matter Further

We hope that, if you have a problem, you will use this procedure. We believe that this will give us the best chance of putting right whatever has gone wrong and an opportunity to improve our service to patients. However, if you feel that you cannot raise your concern with us, you may approach either the Health Board or the Community Health Council.